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Wednesday December 2, 11:34 PM Iraqi oil exports raised just over three billion dollars: UN BAGHDAD, Dec 2 (AFP) - The oil exports of sanctions-hit Iraq over the past six months generated a total of 3.04 billion dollars, the United Nations announced on Wednesday. The UN sanctions committee, meanwhile, has since June approved 114 million dollars worth of Iraqi contracts for oil spare parts from a total of almost 200 million dollars worth of contracts submitted by Iraq. During the last 180-day phase of the UN oil-for-food accord, 308 million barrels of oil was exported in 252 liftings, according to a statement from the UN's Iraq programme. It said 52 percent of Iraqi crude was sold for use in Europe, 38 percent in the United States, and 10 percent in Asia. Out of the 3.04 billion dollars in revenue, around two-thirds goes toward humanitarian imports and the rest to pay compensation for the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait and to finance UN operations in Iraq. Baghdad has reluctantly accepted a six-month renewal of the UN programme while calling for a lifting of the oil embargo in force as part of sweeping sanctions imposed on Baghdad for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The agreed target for the last phase -- the fourth -- was to raise 4.5 billion dollars, but the total revenue was only two-thirds of the amount because of low oil prices and delays in receiving spare parts. The programme is obsolete and fails to meet Iraq's humanitarian needs, according to Baghdad, which accuses Washington of working within the sanctions committee to block Iraqi contracts. The United Nations also said Wednesday that an additional 23 contracts were approved last week for Iraq to purchase spare parts for its war-devastated oil industry. But 100 contracts valued at 35 million dollars are still on hold. Iraq was authorized in June to import 300 million dollars worth of such parts, and the same amount was allocated for the new oil-for-food term which started November 27. Out of the approved contracts, a first small consignment of which arrived last week, the largest single deals are for pipeline equipment from Singapore and Italy. On the food front, a first shipment imported via Syria under the humanitarian programme has reached Iraq by road. Iraqi trucks ferried 10,000 tonnes from the Syrian port of Tartus, newspapers said. George Somerwill, spokesman for the UN programme, said it was part of a consignment of 25,000 tonnes of sugar worth nine million dollars from France. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html